Daffy Duck's Movie: Fantastic Island

Daffy Duck's Movie: Fantastic Island (1983) is the fourth Looney Tunes compilation movie with this entry starring Daffy Duck and it was damn good.

Positives for Daffy Duck's Movie: Fantastic Island (1983): I like how this movie is a parody of Fantasy Island with Daffy Duck and Speedy Gonzales even if I've never watched that show. It does the transitions into the various shorts very well. I got some great laughs in these shorts. This movie is very fast paced with its runtime. And finally, I really liked the ending to this movie.

Negatives for Daffy Duck's Movie: Fantastic Island (1983): There were times where I lost track of the movie and where the story was going for the most part.

Overall, Daffy Duck's Movie: Fantastic Island (1983) is a wonderful Looney Tunes Compilation movie and I have one more compilation movie to watch.

"Daffy Duck's Movie: Fantastic Island" is Friz Freleng's third compliation film, following his previous two successes "Looney Looney Looney Bugs Bunny Movie" and "Bugs Bunny's Third Movie: 1001 Rabbit Tales". This third feature is a tremendous success in its' own right and it continues the winning formula Freleng introduced in his first film: he creates one humdinger of a story to place the footage in.

This time, Freleng spoofs the hit TV series "Fantasy Island" with Daffy Duck in the Ricardo Montalban role and Speedy Gonzales in the Tattoo role. It opens with a side splitting gag (Speedy tells Daffy: Ze Plane! Ze Plane!) and it never lets up for all of its 78 minute screen time. Freleng also uses the film to continue his Yosemite Sam/Bugs Bunny fight which occupies about 20 minutes of this feature.

Well, anyway, back to the story. The premise is that Daffy and Speedy are stranded on a deserted island which has a wishing well. Daffy, being the self described "greedy coward", decides to open a resort that can grant wishes. That's where the classic footage comes into play.

There are many highlights: Tweety, Sylvester and Spike in a pet hospital, Foghorn Leghorn and the womanizing rooster, Yosemite Sam will inherit several million pounds ONLY if he keeps his temper in check and Bugs is the executor of the will! And Daffy Duck is STUPOR DUCK!

As per the previous films, they work on two levels. For kids, as simple entertainment. For adults, savage satire. Most of the shorts here are shown in their entirety, although a few are trimmed for time. This is wonderful entertainment and a worthy addition to any video library.

**** out of 4 stars

I personally enjoy these Looney Tunes compilation films, they aren't a patch on the original cartoons but they're are very entertaining, at least to me even with the cutting and shortening of some of the cartoons.

Daffy Duck's Movie:Fantastic Island is a good compilation film. I prefer QuackBusters and Bugs Bunny/Road-runner Movie, but Fantastic Island is better than in my opinion 1001 Rabbit Tales and Looney Looney Looney Bugs Bunny Movie, which I also liked.

The cartoons featured are very entertaining, especially Captain Hareblower, though I don't consider either of them masterpieces, while the Yosemite Sam trying to do good and Sylvester battling a dog in the hospital episodes are very entertaining too. However one doesn't entirely work and that is the one with Porky Pig looking for talents I agree, Porky is more a support character and the cartoon wasn't as funny as it could have been, and I can understand if Foghorn Leghorn's goes over the heads over some, I get it now, as a kid I didn't.

The story surrounding the cartoons is a good idea, and kept afloat by the characters and witty dialogue, but it didn't make me feel any different about the rather short length and the fact the story feels rather thin and often feels like filler.

The Looney Tunes characters are delightful. Daffy is the star of the show, and I liked it that Speedy was less loud and abrasive as he can be in the hit-and-miss series he was in- the ones with Sylvester I liked, not so much excepting a few the ones with Daffy(ie. See ya Later Gladiator is one of the weakest Looney Tunes cartoons in my opinion)- while Yosemite Sam is still as cantankerous and amusing as ever before.

The animation is excellent, not just in the cartoons featured but also in the links. I admired also how much effort was done into making the characters and animation style as true to the original cartoons as much as possible. The music is also rousing and energetic, the dialogue witty and funny and the sight gags fresh and inventive. The voice work is top notch, June Foray is great as Granny but once again Mel Blanc gives a bravura performance.

Overall, a good compilation film. 8/10 Bethany Cox

"Daffy Duck's Movie: Fantastic Island" is basically an animated rip-off of "Robinson Crusoe" and "Gilligan's Island". Daffy Duck and pint-sized side-kick Speedy Gonzales (who has always been ridiculed falsely as a stereotypical character of Hispanic Americans) get stranded on the titled island and come into contact with a magical well that will grant wishes to all comers. Naturally Yosemite Sam and the dreaded Tasmanian Devil are along as the villains here. Once again new animation is glued together with older shorts. In the end the film is about as good as it can be, but that is not really saying much. 2.5 out of 5 stars.

This is certainly not the best of the Looney Tunes' work but it is still a lot of fun which really gives Daffy Duck the chance to shine as he takes the center stage alongside Speedy Gonzales who plays his faithful sidekick. There are some great lines and some hilarious gags, but this film is mostly a compilation of some of the best episodes. Everyone is in it, even Spike the bull-dog and his little friend, and surprisingly, Bugs Bunny doesn't have much more of a part than any of his other looney tune buddies (though there is a memorable scene where he has a cannon battle with Yuletide Sam). This film is well worth seeing, especially if you have children (well you don't want your kids to turn into little pokemon-loving bratts do you?). Enjoy! 8/10